Melting Ice
by adroit-daydreamer
Summary: Ice is not always cold. Nearly a year after Rise of the Guardians, Jack finds someone else who can see him. The only thing is, she's not a child... JackxOC, not terribly fluffy.
1. Morning Frost

"You guys going to be okay without me? I'm not gonna be held responsible if someone cracks their head on some ice when I was meant to be looking after you!" she pulled a suspicious face at Jamie, hiding a tinge of genuine concern. They were only children...

Jamie's laughter pealed through the air like a bell. "Relax, _mom,_ we'll be fine," he seemed to consider something for a second before pulling another grin, "Besides, we'll have Jack to look after us!" He suddenly jumped sideways, narrowly missing a particularly deadly looking snowball hurled by Claude.

"Jack? Jack who?" she asked.

"Jack Frost, of course!" he exclaimed whilst scooping up a return snowball.

"Jack Frost...right. Good to know you're in such safe hands," she grinned. "Well, you tell Jack Frost that if any of you get into trouble, he'll have me to answer to, okay?"

"Okay, okay!" she wasn't entirely sure if Jamie was acknowledging her, or the two snowballs that had thudded into his back just a moment ago. She turned to go as he knelt to return fire, only for her to bump into someone stood right behind her. "Ooof, sorry!" she blurted out as she backed up a few steps. The stranger, a skinny teenager, stared at her in pure and utter bafflement.

"You...you can see me?" he questioned her, as if the mere idea of it shocked him to his very core.

"Well, yes, but obviously I couldn't see you before; I don't have eyes in the back of my head!" She shook her head as she made a detour around the guy. There was something about his shocked face that puzzled her, for some reason. The utter incredulity it showed. How strange.

Rose climbed the low slope out of the field, as her mind moved onto other things.

Meanwhile, back in the snow-covered field, Jack Frost was staring after the girl, still frozen in amazement.


	2. How Strange

Jack raised an eyebrow as he regarded the girl's retreating figure. Oh yes, she had _definitely_ seen him. Yet clearly, she had no idea who, or rather what he w-

Jack collapsed to the floor, the wind knocked out of him. As he struggled to catch his breath he heard the tell-tale sign of mischievous laughter from behind him, and he couldn't stop himself from letting out a breathy whoop of joy in return. "That's how you want to play it? Well, take that!" he yelled, spinning as he threw a snowball that had just magically happened to appear in his hand. _Bulls-eye._

Jamie laughed at the stunned look on Pippa's face, which was currently encrusted with snow. "No fair Jack Frost! How could you even do that when your back was turned!" her nose pink from the cold, she crumpled up her face to show her opinion on Jack's excellent snowball throwing abilities.

"In all fairness kiddo, I have had 300 years more practice than you at snowball fights," Jack said with a smug grin, "Even if the other players couldn't see me!"

"Oh come on! That doesn't even count!" The girl stamped her foot in disbelief.

"Sure it does," Jack smirked at Pippa's attempt to keep an angry face, which in all fairness she did manage to hold, for about three seconds. Then, she burst into laughter and scooped up some snow, ready to make a missile that was likely aimed for Cupcake.

Jack turned to Jamie, who seemed to be doing his best to make a snowball the size of his own head. "Hey, Jamie, who was that girl you were talking to?" he asked. The boy looked up from his task. "Huh? You mean Rose?"

"If Rose is the girl you were just talking to, then yes," Jack crouched down next to him. "How do you know her?"

"Uh, she lives down the road from me. She looks after me and Sophie when my mom has to work late," Jamie explained. "Why?"

"I...I think she could see me, Jamie." Leaning forward on his tiptoes, Jack peered suspiciously into Jamie's wide eyes. "Would you happen to know anything about that?"

"What?! No!" Jamie said earnestly. "She doesn't believe in you guys. I mean, why would she? She's like nineteen! You heard her laugh when I mentioned you!" Yikes, the kid looked terrified, like Jack would disappear forever if he thought that Jamie had told the girl about the Guardians.

"Hey, kiddo, relax," stretching forward at an angle that would have anyone else flat on their face, Jack ruffled Jamie's hair. "I was just...curious. You sure there's nothing special about her? Anything that might have happen recently..."his voice trailed off. Was that even possible? That people who didn't believe in a spirit could see it? Feel its effects, sure, that happened all the time. Jack found great amusement in watching adults slip and slide over ice that they would have _sworn_ wasn't under their feet a second ago. But... actually see them? No, it was impossible. Surely after all this time, he'd have known about it. He would have _found_ someone like that.

Jamie's voice yanked Jack out of his thoughts. "No, I mean, she's nice and everything, waaaaay better than Claude and Caleb's big sister, but there's nothing, you know," Jamie's voice dropped to a whisper, "_Magical_ about her." With a wry smile, Jack stood up and ruffled the kid's hair.

"Alright, just thought I'd ask," he sighed.

"Oh, her mom died last year, if that makes any difference?" Jamie said without looking up from what were really the beginnings of a snowman by now. "Mom says that's why she comes round more often now, because our house is anything but quiet," he grinned suddenly, showing that the tooth Jack had knocked out months ago was nearly fully replaced.

"Yeah? I don't see why that would make any difference...I think I'm gonna have to go, Jamie, I'll see you round, eh?"

"What? No, don't go! You only just got here," Jamie said suddenly, stumbling up to his feet.

Giving his trademark grin, Jack looked down at the kid. "C'mon man, it's only November! You're going to be seeing a lot more of me for now, Jamie." Raising his voice, he called out to all the other believers in the field, "You call that a snowball fight? Pathetic, the lot of you!" And before a flurry of snowballs could hit him left, right and centre, he was off, whipped into the air on an icy wind.


	3. The Smallest of Things

"Maggie Holland, beloved by all," she read. "That doesn't even begin to cover it." The girl knelt down, brushing the layer of snow off the top of the stone. "That won't ever cover it." With a heavy heart, she took the wilting, frozen flowers out of the flowerpot and started to arrange the new ones she had brought with her.

The world was quiet here, just far away enough from busy roads that on a bright summer's day you might hear a car or two go past, if you didn't speak. On this particular cold morning, however, the snow seemed to lay a blanket over the surrounding fields, just thick enough to hide the muddy patches, and to encourage would-be drivers to stay an extra hour in bed. It was nice, in a way. Most days when she came here, there would be at least one other visitor, but not today. She was grateful for that, at least. It allowed her self-consciousness to slip away, for her mask to slip for just a moment.

There, that looked a lot nicer. Roses, as always, although an off-white this time, their creaminess brought out in contrast with the surrounding winter. The ones now wrapped in crumpled cellophane had been a lovely orange colour. "Only the best for you, Mom," she murmured. Carefully, she took out a small leather-bound book from her pocket, and opened it. Rose considered for a second, before plucking off one of the fresh petals and placing it on an otherwise blank page, before putting the book away again.

She sniffed, letting the tears continue their warm journeys down her cheeks. Her eyes opened, letting her see that soft, fat flakes of snow had begun to fall. Looking up from the ground, the graveyard around her suddenly didn't seem so still and dark as it had a moment ago. Pulling back an over-large sleeve, Rose held her hand out to catch some, only to shiver when one almost immediately landed on her palm. And as the snowflake melted, so did a tiny part of her sadness. Just enough for her to be able to get back on her feet again and slowly find her way out of the cemetery, dead flowers clutched in her hand. 

* * *

"YE-HEEEEEEEEEEEE-AAAAAAAAAAH!" Now _this_ was something fun. The wind in his hair, fluffy clouds tingling Jack's cheek as cold rippled through them, sending down a bank of snowflakes that, had anyone been looking, would have followed a pattern remarkably similar to that of the flight of Jack Frost. However it didn't take a weathered farmer to know where the snow was headed. Why, if you were to stick your head out of the window for only a minute, you couldn't help but notice the snow-laden clouds. They drifted, they dragged, and they dashed across the sky; all of them heading in one direction: North.


	4. It is Impossible!

Nicholas St North was busy. Very, very busy. Of course he was, it was only two months until Christmas! Now was the most stressful time of the year for North, especially for this particular one; quite a large number of his faithful yeti workforce were suffering from a dreadful case of the sniffles, and so he had had to take on a larger number of new yetis this year just to make up for his lost staff. It was complete and utter mayhem!

And yet, sitting here, looking at the delicate unicorn he had just this moment finished carving out of ice with pains-taking dedication, it all seemed completely worth it! Why, look at the way its eyes seem to twinkle, the way its tail almost fluttered in the breeze! Ah, so beautiful. He was a master craftsman, if he said so himself!

"Hey, hey, Sergei, what do you think, ah?" North asked, beckoning over one of three elves that had been, ahem, 'sneakily' making all sorts of terrible faces behind North's back, giggling at each other. Slurping his tongue back into his mouth, Sergei the Twinkly waddled over towards North's worktop. As he got out of the miniscule elevator that rose out of the floor, his eyes began to shimmer. "Is quite good, no? I mean, considering that I have not made unicorn in over sixty years!" North scratched the back of his head. Was it really that long? Surely not!

Suddenly, Sergei burst into tears, liquids running down his face (and not just from his eyes) at an alarming rate. North let out a mighty laugh, right from his belly, and gave the elf a (mostly) gentle pat on the head. "I know, I know. It makes me proud also." As Sergei approached the unicorn it came to life, tossing its mane in an imaginary wind as it reared up on its hind legs. The elf's eyes grew wide as it approached him, and his cheeks became pink when it sniffed the top of his hat. With a small chuckle, North swept up the unicorn in his hands so that the yetis could start production of yet another beautiful toy! "Now, now, we do not eat elves, understood?" he said to the unicorn. Opening the door to the workshop, North called to the closest yeti, Desna, and instructed him to oversee the production of the unicorn.

He settled back into his chair for the fun task of stock-taking. A small mountain of papers in front of him, North reclined just a little, earning an audible CRACK from his back. "Ahh," he sighed, as his eyes began to droop behind their half-moon glasses. Approximately seventy three loud, rolling snores later, the latch on one of the large, misted windows mysteriously undid itself, making the glass swing open with a bang that caused North's head to jerk up with a sleep-slurred "Whaa?" that developed into a (surprisingly high-pitched) squeak as icy arctic air permeated the room. North pinched the bridge of his nose and threw his glasses carelessly across his desk as he glared at the figure currently walking across his windowsill. "Jack Frost! You would disturb an old man when he is sleeping? I did not know you were so cruel!" With a delighted laugh, Jack flew across the room to the other side of North's desk. "I'm sorry old man, should I have knocked?"

He got nothing more than a disgruntled 'Mmph,' as a reply, before North asked "What is meaning of this visit? This is very busy time for both of us, my icy friend." He paused, brow furrowing, "Which means... this is important."

"What? Can't a guy visit his fellow guardian without the world's fate being at stake? Sheesh, North, you sure know how to make a guy feel welcome," Jack teased, rolling back on his feet. When all North did was to stare at him with those big, piercing eyes, his chest deflated a little. "Alright, you got me." He took a deep breath, and hesitated, his gaze flickering away from North. "Ah...have you...ever...met someone who could see you? Someone who didn't believe in you?" He asked, not wanting to meet the older Guardian's gaze.

"A non-believer? No, I'm afraid I have not," North replied, stroking his beard thoughtfully, "Are you sure that the child did not believe in you? Is not always obvious at first glance," he cautioned. Jack gave a small wry grin at the man's insightfulness, before shaking his head slowly. "There's no way she believed in me, North, she's nineteen."

"What? Then it is impossible."

I know it is! That's why I came to ask you about it," Jack retorted, running his fingers through his steely hair. The wrinkles forming across his brow didn't suit his usually carefree face.

"This girl, where is she? Where is she from?" North questioned, trying to understand more about the strange phenomenon that Jack was describing. "It is not always so that children stop believing in us in adolescence, in some plac-

"Burgess." Jack said, his expression showing that he thought there may be some weight to the word. And there was; Burgess, the place where Jack Overland had lived and died, and where Jack Frost always returned to. His hometown, as well as that of the child, Jamie, once the last light on North's globe.

"Ah," he sighed, reclining back in his chair, but this time there was no dreamsand clouding his eyes, instead they were thoughtful. "Even if the boy or his friends had told her about you, it would not make her believe that you actually exist... This is very strange." Suddenly, North rose up from his desk and walked across the room to close the window. Then there was a silence, one that completely ignored the busy workshop that lay on the other side of North's door, as he stared at the arctic landscape outside. It felt odd to Jack, seeing him look so, well, _pensive._ Mysterious, even.

"I cannot help you in this matter, Jack, but is possible that there is someone else that can." He turned to face his fellow Guardian, patting his pockets in search of something. "Someone who deals with matters of the past. Aha!" He delved his hand into his right pocket, which seemed to go on for an uncanny amount of leg.

After thinking for a moment, Jack's face brightened with a smile and a small chuckle. "Tooth!" He cried, realising who North was hinting at. He looked up to see the man proffering an item in his hand.

"Snow globe?"


	5. Chaos Personified

"Ooouh-ooergh!" With a flash of light, Jack appeared in the middle of a mountainous island somewhere off the coast of Asia. Unfortunately, he appeared not on a mountain, but rather right next to one, and as a result he had fallen 50 feet before he found his head and steadied himself in the open air. With a disgruntled shake of his head, Jack muttered, "Those things could at least come with a little instruction."

Needing a view of his vast surroundings, Jack flew up above the heads of the mountain range around him, clear eyes searching the landscape for any tell-tale flash of turquoise. It was a testament to his eyesight that Jack was able to distinguish such a thing at all, surrounded as he was by lush green vegetation. Indeed, he only glimpsed it for a second before it was lost again, but Jack was already off, flying after what he sincerely hoped was a tooth fairy, and not an ordinary hummingbird.

And indeed, it was! Whizzing along as she was, the small creature remained at least a hundred feet ahead of Jack no matter how much he tried to catch up to her. Even so, Jack kept his eyes fixed on the fairy, scattering leaves as he skimmed treetops and dodged around the strange rock formations that seemed to characterise the island, until eventually he flung himself around another protrusion and saw the Tooth Palace.

Toothiana's residence lay inside a vast cavern within the highest mountain in the region. Seven enormous pillars seemed to grow out of the cavern's roof like meticulously carved stalactites; they gleamed in hues of gold, purple and fuchsia. Jack paused for a moment in awe of the sight of it, and the thousands of fairies that seemed to stream through it, all of them heading in different directions yet never colliding. In amongst them, one larger shape flitted about, there one second and gone the next!

Jack drifted towards the palace on a light breeze, trying to spot his fellow Guardian, when suddenly a chirpy voice appeared from behind him. "Jack?"

"Wha! Oh, hey, Tooth," Jack said sheepishly as he turned around, not at all flustered.

"Jack, it's so good to see you! Where have you been? I can't believe it's already been 138 days since I've seen you! It's just I've been so wrapped up in all of my work that I've barely had any time away from it, not even to sleep! And you _know_ how I get cranky if I don't get at least eight hours of sleep every year! Sorry, I'm rambling. How are you? Why are you here? Is there something wrong?"

"I, uh, can I just get a moment of processing time here?" Jack asked, floating back slightly from the sheer force of Tooth's perkiness. Truth be told, it was a bit _too_ perky, even for her. Things were still a little...awkward between the two of them. For over a year, the two of them had been nigh on inseparable, with Tooth finding joy in showing Jack what it meant to be a Guardian in times of peace, and Jack mischievously showing her the hilarity that is an adult that takes himself too seriously, particularly one who just happened to be walking over a thin layer of ice.

They had been close, and for a while it had looked like they would become even closer... but Jack was Chaos personified. To say he had commitment issues was a serious understatement. And so the Tooth Fairy had wistfully returned to her palace, and Jack had resumed his nomadic life, spending his days hopping across telephone lines and drawing on windows. Jack, of course, was oblivious to the fact that Tooth had never left her home in the time since, and to the hurt he had so offhandedly caused her. Which is why he now ignored her slightly off demeanour, and told her about the girl he had seen (or rather, who had seen him).

"Oh wow, really?" Tooth asked, her curiosity piqued. "Well... I'm sorry to say this after you've come all this way, Jack, but no, I haven't heard of such a thing, in all my years," she revealed, placing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "I wish I could help."

"Aw come on, are you sure? There must be something! C'mon Tooth, I'm begging here."

"Jack, are you sure this girl saw you? Maybe you should try and find her again just to make sure that she really can see you. And if she can, why don't you just ask? What's the worst that can happen?" She asked, with a warm little smile. Jack's mouth resembled the letter 'O' for about half a second before his face crumpled up in disbelief, "Oh, I don't know, maybe, a human girl running around screaming that some mysterious boy is flying around town and seems to be hanging around a bunch of kids? Oh yeah, that'll go down brilliantly, I'm sure," Jack retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You say you only met her for a moment, Jack, can you really be sure that's she's human? What if she's just a spirit, like you and me," she asked, a grin widening across her lips, "Wouldn't you feel a little silly, having come all this way to ask about a _spirit? _You know as well as I do that some spirits are perfectly visible to humans, whether they're believed in or not."

"Well, I – I uh, wai – uh." To say that Jack _said_ this would really be too generous, so let us just say that Jack spluttered for a moment, having clearly not thought about this. You see, he had always assumed that he was able to _sense_ spirits, in the way that you sensed when someone was watching you, or that a thunderstorm was approaching. But perhaps it wasn't always so. Could it really be that the girl was just another spirit? Jack's mind wouldn't reach a definitive answer, and so he thanked Tooth, and with only a second of awkward silence where once a hug would have been, he was off once more, spreading winter across Eurasia in his wake.


End file.
